Wisdom of life

"Wohlthun, wo man kann, Freiheit über alles lieben, Wahrheit nie, auch sogar am Throne nicht verleugnen."
'Do good wherever you can, love freedom above all else, never deny the truth, not even at the throne.'
On 22 May 1793 in Vienna in the family register of Theodora Johanna Vocke from Nuremberg on page 304. Beethoven quotes from Friedrich Schiller's 'Don Carlos'. Schmidt-Görg, Joseph: Ein Schiller-Zitat Beethovens in neuer Sicht, 1980, in: Musik, Edition, Interpretation: Gedenkschrift Günter Henle, Munich: Henle, 1980, p. 423

"Die Wahrheit ist vorhanden für den Weisen, Die Schönheit für ein fühlend Herz. Sie beyde gehören für einander."
'Truth exists for the wise, Beauty for a feeling heart. They both belong to each other.' 
Entry in the family register of Lorenz von Breuning, Vienna, 1 October 1797, also used by Matthias Koch in Beethoven's family register in 1792, a quotation from Friedrich Schiller's 'Don Carlos'.
Beethoven-Haus Bonn, Collection Wegeler, W 7

"Kraft ist die Moral der Menschen, die sich vor andern auszeichnen,"
'Strength is the morality of people who distinguish themselves from others.'
Beethoven to Nikolaus Zmeskall, Vienna, around 1798 (BGA 35).
Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum  

"denn was nicht zu ändern ist, darüber kann man sich nicht zanken."
'because you can't argue about what you can't change.'
Beethoven to Nikolaus Zmeskall, Vienna, 24 March 1799 (BGA 41).
Tokio,  private property 

"das glück ist kugelrund und fällt daher natürlich nicht immer auf das edelste, das beste"
'luck is spherical and therefore naturally does not always fall on the noblest, the best'
Beethoven to Franz Gerhard Wegeler in Bonn, Vienna, 29 June 1801 (BGA 65).
Beethoven-Haus Bonn, Collection Wegeler, W 17 

"o es ist so schön das Leben tausendmal leben -"
'Oh it is so beautiful to live life a thousand times -'
Beethoven to Franz Gerhard Wegeler in Bonn, Vienna, 16 November 1801 (BGA 70). 
Beethoven-Haus Bonn, Collection Wegeler, W 18

"emphelt euren Kindern Tugend, sie nur allein kann glücklich machen, nicht Geld,"
'empower your children with virtue, it alone can make them happy, not money.'
Beethoven to his brothers Kaspar Karl and Johann van Beethoven ('Heiligenstadt Testament'), Heiligenstadt, 6 and 10 October 1802 (BGA 106).  
Hamburg, State and University Library, ND VI 4281  

"warum den Augenblick nicht ergreifen, da er so schnell verfliegt"
'Why not seize the moment, as it flies by so quickly'
Beethoven to Marie Bigot de Morogues, Vienna, 4 March 1807 (BGA 271).  
Beethoven-Haus Bonn, Collection H.C. Bodmer, HCB BBr 108

"alle ächte Empfindung ist ein moralischer Fortschritt."
'All true sentiment is moral progress.'
Attributed. This quote is taken from a letter from Bettina Brentano (later married to von Arnim) to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe dated 28 May 1810. In it, she describes her impressions of Beethoven and puts the above words into his mouth - it is therefore doubtful whether Beethoven really expressed himself in this way.  
Arnim, Bettina von: Goethe's Correspondence with a Child, vol. 2, Berlin: 1835, p. 197  

"Lerne Schweigen o Freund. Dem Silber gleichet die Rede aber zu rechter Zeit Schweigen ist lauteres Gold."
'Learn silence, O friend. Speech is like silver, but silence at the right time is pure gold.'
In his diary, 1812-1818.  
This is a quote from J. G. Herder: The Silence, from: Blumen aus morgenländischen Dichtern gesammelt, first published in: Zerstreute Blätter, vierte Sammlung, Gotha 1792, p. 11; subsequently reprinted several times, see also: Herders poetische Werke, ed. by Carl Redlich in: Sämmtliche Werke, vol. XXVI/2, Berlin 1882, p. 374.  
Beethoven composed the canon WoO 168 No. 1 'The Silence' for this purpose.  
The quotation is also mentioned in other literature, for example in: Giannattasio del Rio, Fanny: Aus Beethovens spätern Lebensjahren: 1. Mittheilungen aus einem Tagebuch, 1857, p. 26.  
Beethoven's Diary: 1812-1818, ed. by Maynard Solomon, Bonn: Beethoven-Haus, 2nd edition, 2005, p. 31  

"Ein gutes Wort findet gut statt."
'A good word is a good thing.'
In his diary, 1812-1818.  
This is a proverb, see Franz von Lipperheide, ed., Spruchwörterbuch, Berlin, 1907, p. 1033, second column: 'Good word finds good place'.   
Beethoven's Diary: 1812-1818, edited by Maynard Solomon, Bonn: Beethoven-Haus, 2nd edition, 2005, p. 42  

"Und regneten die Wolken Lebensbäche, nie wird der Weidenbaum dir Datteln tragen verschwende nicht die Zeit mit schlechten Menschen, gemeines Rohr wird nie dir Zucker geben. Kannst du ein gutes Schwert aus weichem Tohn dir schmieden, aendert von Menschen gepflegt je sich des Wolfes Natur, ists nicht einerley dem der hier auf salzigem Boden Distel und Dornen erzieht, Blumen den Garten verleiht?
Also verschwende du dir nicht Saamen und köstliche Wartung. Böses dem Guten und Gutes dem Bösen erzeigen ist Eins."
'And if the clouds rained streams of life, the willow tree will never bear you dates, don't waste your time with bad people, the common reed will never give you sugar. Can you forge a good sword from soft clay, does the wolf's nature ever change when tended by men, is it not the same for him who raises thistles and thorns here on salty soil, gives flowers to the garden?
So do not waste seeds and delicious care. To show evil to good and good to evil is one.'
In his diary, 1812-1818. 
This is a quotation from J. G. Herder: Verschwendete Mühe, in: Zerstreute Blätter, vierte Sammlung, Gotha 1792, p. 27; Sämmtliche Werke, vol. XXVI/2, p. 380 (cf. commentary on entry no. 5).    
Beethoven's Diary: 1812-1818, edited by Maynard Solomon, Bonn: Beethoven-Haus, 2nd edition, 2005, pp. 31-32  

"Der Haß dehnt sich selbst zurück auf diejenigen, die ihn hegen."
'Hatred extends itself back to those who harbour it.'
In his diary, 1812-1818.  
This is a proverb, usually used in the formulation of 'evil' instead of 'hate'; however, there is no evidence of this in the present version.  
Beethoven's Diary: 1812-1818, edited by Maynard Solomon, Bonn: Beethoven-Haus, 2nd edition, 2005, p. 42  

"Ruhe und Freyheit sind die größten Güter."
'Peace and freedom are the greatest goods.'
In seinem Tagebuch, 1812-1818.
Probably a quote from an ancient author.   
Beethoven's Diary: 1812-1818, ed. by Maynard Solomon, Bonn: Beethoven-Haus, 2nd edition, 2005, p. 89  

"Man muß was sein, wenn man was scheinen will."
'You have to be something if you want to shine.'
Attributed. This quotation comes from a letter Beethoven wrote to Bettina Brentano (later married to von Arnim) in August 1812, but the authenticity of this letter is doubtful: of Beethoven's three letters to Bettina, only the autograph of 10 February 1811 has survived.  
Original not known, quoted from Thayer, Alexander Wheelock: Ludwig van Beethoven's Leben. Volume 3, Berlin: 1879, p. 329.  

"Gegen alle Menschen äußerlich nie die Verachtung merken lassen, die sie verdienen denn man kann nicht wissen wo man sie braucht"
'Never let anyone outwardly show the contempt they deserve, because you can't know where you need them'
In his diary, 1812-1818.  
Beethoven's Diary: 1812-1818, ed. by Maynard Solomon, Bonn: Beethoven-Haus, 2nd edition, 2005, p. 43  

"Das Beste an dein Uibel nicht zu denken ist Beschäftigung."
'The best thing not to think about your evil is employment.'
In his diary, 1812-1818.   
Beethoven's Diary: 1812-1818, ed. by Maynard Solomon, Bonn: Beethoven-Haus, 2nd edition, 2005, p. 32  

"auch das glänzendst Talent kann durch Gewohnheit verliehren."
'even the most brilliant talent can be lost through habit.'
Beethoven to Archduke Rudolph, Vienna, perhaps January 1813 (BGA 618).  
Vienna, Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, A 84/52  

"mit Muth - gewinnt man allenthalben, wenn er gerecht ist."
'with courage - you win everywhere, if it is just.'
Beethoven to Countess Marie Erdödy in Jedlesee, Baden, on or shortly after 20 July 1815 (BGA 821).  
Switzerland, privately owned  

"Rache übe ich nie aus; in Fällen, wo ich muß gegen andere Menschen handeln, thue ich nichts mehr gegen sie als was die Nothwendigkeit erfordert, mich vor ihnen zu bewahren, oder sie verhindert weiter Uebeles zu stiften."
'I never take revenge; in cases where I have to act against other people, I do nothing more against them than what is necessary to protect myself from them, or to prevent them from doing further evil.'
Beethoven to Nannette Streicher, Mödling, 18 June 1818 (BGA 1260).  
Original not known; text after TDR IV, p. 509 ff. (no. 59)  

"Man sagt die Kunst sey lang, kurz das Leben – Lang' ist das Leben nur, kurz die Kunst; Soll unß ihr Hauch zu den Göttern heben – So ist er eines Augenblickes Gunst" 
'They say art is long, life is short - Long is life only, art is short; If its breath is to lift us to the gods - It is a moment's favour' 
In the Konversationsheft 9, sheet 11r, ca. 11-14 March 1820 (BKh 1, p. 326).  
Cf. Hippocrates, Aphorisms: 'Life is short, art is long'; Goethe, Faust I, I (Wagner): 'Oh God! Art is long! | And short is our life'. - Beethoven's inverted commas suggest a quotation from an as yet unidentified source.  
Berlin, German State Library, no. 8  

"ich bin wie allzeit ganz meinen Musen ergeben u. finde nur darin das Glück meines Lebens, u wirke u. Handle auch für andre, wo ich kann;"
'I am as always completely devoted to my muses and find the happiness of my life only in them, and also work and act for others where I can;'
Beethoven to Ferdinand Ries in London, Vienna, 6 July 1822 (BGA 1479).  
Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum  

"ich wünsche ihnen allen guten Erfolg ihrer Bemühungen für die Kunst, sind es diese u. wissenschaft doch nur, die unß ein höheres Leben andeuten u. hoffen laßen." 
'I wish them every success in their endeavours for art, for it is only these and science that give us a hint of a higher life and hope.' 
Beethoven to B. Schott's Söhne in Mainz, Baden, 17 September 1824 (BGA 1881).  
Mainz, City Library, Hs III 71, no. 4